Truly Brilliant
by Sarcastic-Bones
Summary: Three shot of moments from 4x6 from Jess's POV. Jess bringing Becker the Chinese, the bomb scene, and a missing moment later that day. Now also in Becker's POV. Enjoy!
1. Jess 1

**My last Jess/Becker, 'A Tank?', got a really wonderful feedback, a few people said I should write more Jess/Becker and, because I love them, I decided to do just that. This is a little different because it's from Jess's POV, rather than third person. It's my first attempt at Jess's POV so let me know what you think.**

**There will be two more chapters: The scene with the bomb from Jess's POV and a made up missing moment back at the ARC afterwards.**

**I hope you like it!  
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><p>This was ridiculous.<p>

_You're being ridiculous, Jess._

_Great, now you're talking to yourself, that's going to make you seem sane to him._

I shut my car door with my heels, carefully balancing the Chinese in both hands. I'd spotted Becker's car as soon as I entered the underground parking lot.

Honestly, he wasn't exactly very subtle in that great big ARC vehicle.

My heels clacked loudly on the concrete, echoing quietly in the large empty space as I crossed between two parked cars.

I paused, placing the Chinese food on the ground and kneeling down behind a Mini to unbuckle my bright shoes. Job done, I picked them up so that they hung from one hand and balanced the food as if I was hugging it. If anything, it kept me warm.

It was comforting.

_This is such a dumb idea, _I chastised myself again. _He's going to think you're an idiot._

_Maybe he'll just think it's sweet._

_No, not sweet, Jess - think of a more appropriate colleague word! Thoughtful. Polite. Yes, polite._

I paused when I reached the end of the row of cars. Four bays away sat Becker in the black ARC vehicle, staring at something in front of him - probably a monitor of some sort, or fiddling with the radio. No, Becker wouldn't listen to the radio at a time like this. Monitor it was.

I took a deep breath.

Well, I was here now. I couldn't just go home with twice as much food than was strictly necessary, could I? Besides, it would be cold by the time I drove all the way home, and I'd even bought Prawn Crackers. Nobody bought a whole tub of Prawn Cracker's for themselves!

One step at a time, I approached the car.

For a trained soldier, he didn't even notice me approach.

I plastered a confident smile on my face and knocked on the window as carefully as possible.

He jumped anyway.

_Well done, Jess - scare the poor man, why don't you?_

It felt weird to speak out loud to nothing, considering he was still on the opposite side of the glass, so I simply mouthed an apology.

_This was a stupid idea. He's going to think you're an idiot. Oh great, now he's rolling his eyes at me._

He looked cute when he was annoyed…

_Focus, Jess!_

I watched as Becker rolled down the window. Despite his outward appearance of annoyance, he was a little bit curious. I could see it in his eyes.

"Thought you might be hungry. I hope you like Chinese?"

_Oh god, what if he didn't? I'd look even worse._

I'd said it. Now he knew why I was here. I held my breath, secretly trying to judge his reaction by his face. I didn't know what he was going to say when he opened his mouth to reply.

He didn't even give a direct answer, still preoccupied with _me_, not the food I'd brought.

"Jessica-"

_He called me by my full name. _I secretly liked it when he called me that, not that I'd tell him.

"This is a stakeout," He stated flatly. There was still a small hint of amusement in his voice, as if he liked being the one who knew what he was doing and telling others the facts. Which he did.

"You still have to eat," I pointed out cheerfully. Now I was here, it didn't seem like such a bad idea. Except, I had no way to justify it. Yes, maybe he did have to eat, but why should _I_ be the one to bring him the food? _Oh no, I should have thought this through._ "I was just on my way home and I thought I'd drop by."

I winced internally at my own lie. It was terrible. I even looked away - everyone knows that the biggest sign of a lie is to break eye contact!

_Lie better, Jess! Oh god, why did I say that? That was a terrible idea.  
><em>

Maybe he wouldn't notice. Maybe, to him, it seemed like a perfectly acceptable reason to bring Chinese to a stake out in the middle of the night…

As soon as I looked back at his face I knew he wasn't buying it. "Jessica, I know where you live. It's miles away."

_Fudge!_

I'd forgotten about that.

"Well, I like the scenic route," I smiled.

I'd lied once, I may as well try to stumble my way through the rest of this conversation.

Okay, so I wasn't just going to knock on the window and say: "Sorry, but I felt like an idiot for telling you to _'Keep warm'_ earlier so I thought I'd come and make a bigger fool out of myself. Oh, also, I have an insane crush on you." I don't think that would go down too well, do you?

_Stop talking to yourself! You're here now._

Becker stared at me for a moment. I smiled back.

_Don't say anything, Jess,_ I warned myself. _You'll just make it worse._

Suddenly, he grinned back. "Got any Prawn Crackers?"

_Phew!_

I picked up the tub, luckily on the top of the bag, and simply showed him. His smile widened.

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><p>My shoes were thrown in the back of the car, discarded for the moment. Empty plastic tubs were piled on the back seat along with a handful of Prawn Crackers where Becker had been trying to teach me to aim through the loop of the backseat headrests. I'd failed pretty much every time.<p>

He was laughing at me.

"It's harder than it looks!" I defended.

His answer was to throw the half of the Prawn Cracker in his hands, hitting the target perfectly, the Cracker landing in the boot. I gave him a mock glare.

"It takes training," He told me, half-boastfully, half-consolingly.

"Oh, so that's what soldiers do for training, is it?" I teased. "Shoot Chinese food at targets?"

He smirked. "Unfortunately, Jessica, that's top secret information. I can't confirm or deny it."

I laughed at his response.

We lapsed into silence for a moment.

Tucking my feet underneath my body as I sat up in the passenger seat, leaning through the gap in between our seats to reach my shoes. I reached around and found one but couldn't get the other.

"I think I've lost my other shoe…" I creased my eyebrows in concentration, feeling the floor again. From the way I was leaning I was still looking at Becker, my face much closer to his seat. He was smiling.

He had turned to study the monitor in front of him, pressing a few buttons to bring up different screens. After a moment he was satisfied because he turned back to me.

He was surprised to find me so close and looking directly at him.

"Jessica!" He jolted in surprise, then sighed in mock annoyance.

I smiled as I found my other shoe, leaning back into my own seat. "Sorry, but as a soldier, you are rather jumpy today."

"I'm just… on edge."

"Waiting for Ethan to show up?" I asked carefully, putting my shoes on.

He nodded. "This is definitely the place, but he hasn't been back at all since we arrived earlier. I'm just worried he might not turn up at all, and we've lost him again…"

"You couldn't have lost him," I blurted out optimistically before I could stop myself. "You're too good for that."

I mentally rolled my eyes at myself. _Well done, Jess, that doesn't sound oddly trusting at all…_

_Just when he was beginning to think you were normal._

He surprised me by smiling, his lips creased in a way that meant he was trying not to laugh.

_Oh god, he knew I was just blurting out my uncensored thoughts!_

"I didn't mean to say that," I mumbled, embarrassed.

"Thank you, Jessica," The sincerity in his voice made me look up. Yes, he was laughing at me, but he was also serious.

I beamed back - I couldn't help it, his smile was just so infectious - and said happily, "You're welcome."

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><p><strong>Okay, so the second half of this was just something I thought up. I don't know if you are going to like it - I hope you do! Let me know what you think of them and if there's anything a little off. I really tried to keep them in character. :) Chapter 2 should be up soon. Thank you for reading. I'd love any reviews?<strong>


	2. Jess 2

**I think I fare better with humour, but I gave this serious scene a good go! Please let me know what you think, I hope it's up to par with the last chapter! Also, a HUGE thank you to everybody who read/reviewed/favourited/alerted this story! It means a lot to me.**

**I hope you like it!**

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><p>I don't know how I'd ended up asleep on his shoulder, but I wasn't complaining.<p>

I drifted in and out of consciousness - I'd never been very good at sleeping whilst travelling, cars were just uncomfortable.

Suddenly I was roused from sleep by Becker's urgent voice: "Dammit, he's in the house."

I slowly sat up, not taking in his words. "W… What happened?"

Becker grabbed the EMD on the dashboard and opened the car door, "I'm going in. Call for backup. _Wait in the car._"

As he took off towards the stairs, I dug my phone out my pocket, hitting speed dial (_Was it sad that work was on speed dial? Maybe I needed a hobby… Not now, Jess!_). "Backup needed! Can we get a unit down here _now_?"

My heart raced. _What if something went wrong?_

Becker had gone blindly into the building, without backup, in too much of a hurry to get to Ethan. What if Ethan had planned this? What if he _wanted_ to lure Becker in, to attack him, or kill him?

_You've watched way too many dramas on TV, Jess._

I flipped my phone in my hand. I tapped my feet on the floor. I twiddled the radio dial, even though it wasn't on.

Becker had been in there for a while, yet nothing had happened. What if something had gone wrong?

I fidgeted in my seat again.

_Well, I couldn't just sit here, could I?_

I opened the glove compartment and, sure enough, Becker had an EMD stashed there.

_How many did he own?_

I shook my head, clearing it of that unnecessary thought. Now wasn't the time.

I took off towards the staircase as well. If anything, I could buy Becker time until the backup arrived. I may as well be useful and sitting in the car was _not_ useful.

I was shaking.

I couldn't help it!

_Slowly, Jess, slowly…_

I jumped at the movement in the next room as I rounded the corner, ready to do god knows what with the dangerous weapon in my hands.

The room was dark, but Becker's voiced stopped me from doing anything impetuous.

"Don't shoot, don't shoot! It's me." He announced, obviously knowing by my loud heels and clumsy movements that it was me. "Don't move, this place is rigged with traps. Walk slowly… that way, yeah."

I sighed, half in relief. At least I hadn't run into Ethan himself.

I followed Becker's eye line, carefully picking my way around the edge of the room. I was controlling sometimes, but I knew when to shut up and listen to him.

Becker was standing in the middle of the room, wrestling with something. No, he was holding something.

"Where's Ethan?"

"Not here," He replied simply, quickly. "But he's left us a little gift."

I took a better look at him. I still didn't fully understand what was going on, just that it wasn't good.

As if Becker could read my mind, he continued, "There's a pressure pad under my left foot, it's attached to that metronome." I followed his gaze, only noticing the metronome sound once he'd pointed it out. I could feel myself going numb. _Something was definitely wrong._ "And I think that's a bomb."

I gasped quietly. _This was not good._

_Understatement of the year, Jess!_

Still, if I had to choose somebody to be in this situation with, it was Becker. His voice was calm, surprisingly so, until I remembered he _was_ a trained soldier. This wasn't throwing Chinese food at targets, this was real danger. This was what Becker was trained for.

"This counter weight hits the floor… well, I think that detonates the bomb as well. I need you to come over here, and tell me if I'm right, okay?"

I hesitated, not because I didn't want to help - because I did - but because I didn't want to do anything… well, anything like _me_. I was clumsy and careless when I walked, and I was in heels. If I did something wrong, I could really hurt Becker. I wasn't trained for this type of situation, I was trained to be back at the office _directing_ people _out_ of this type of situation.

_You're not back at the office, you're here. With Becker. In trouble. Do something!_

"Okay, okay," I agreed, starting towards the large object behind Becker.

"And there's a trip wire there," He pointed out calmly. I stepped over it, trying not to panic too much. He was composed on the outside, probably so as not to scare me too much. "Now just really… _really_ gently pull that off."

I placed my hand on the cool fabric. _Oh no, oh no, what if I messed this up and something went wrong? Oh no…_

I gripped the material, took a deep breath, and tugged it off the object.

I gasped, "Oh god!"

From my peripheral vision I sensed Becker close his eyes in… concern? Anxiety?

I didn't exactly know what I was looking at, but it was huge. And it looked bad. Plus, Becker had mentioned a bomb, so I was guessing it wasn't good.

"That could destroy the entire building. You need to get out of here - _now_."

"No! I-"

"Go, _now!_"

He was firm, but I wasn't just going to run. I couldn't just leave him here whilst the building blew up! "I'm not leaving you…. I'm not leaving you."

Becker hesitated, then angrily breathed out, "He _knew_ we were watching him!" He turned his head to look at me, "You need to leave now."

I fidgeted, uneasy. There was no way I was leaving him. Even if it wasn't Becker stuck with the bomb - even if it was Connor or Matt or Abby, even Lester - I wasn't going to just _leave_.

And I _couldn't _leave Becker.

So that left me with one option. "Becker, you tell me what to do. You can tell me…. come on," My voice almost came out as a plead. I _wasn't _leaving him.

He grunted, the weight he was holding up obviously becoming a dead weight in his hands. I took that as a yes.

_Oh god, what had I just got myself into!_

I hurried carefully round the back of the canister.

"Tell me what you can see," Becker directed.

I didn't really know what I was looking at.

"Um, yeah, there's a… there's a black box."

_Well done, Jess._ I mentally scolded myself. _Real helpful._

"What's inside it? Take the back off it." I carefully reached out, hesitant to touch anything lest I might break it. "Tell me what you see."

I managed to carefully unclip the back of the box, heart racing.

"Umm, loads and _loads_ of wires," I called back to him.

_I hope he knows what to do now._

Apparently he did, because he continued instructing me, the only hint of apprehension was the strain in his voice because of the weight in his hands. "There should be a small cylinder, the detonator, with two wires. A red and a green wire coming out the bottom of it."

_Detonator? That sounded even worse._

Cautiously I tried to move the wires apart so I could see better into the box. Yes, there was the cylinder and if I just moved some wires to the side I could-

The object released a puff of air in what can only be described by me as a mini explosion.

I screamed.

"Don't touch anything!" I heard Becker reprimand me a little angrily. _Don't take it personally Jess, he probably just doesn't want to be blown up… oh god, oh god, what if I blew us up? _His tone became calmer again, warmer, trying to reassure me. "Can you see that? You're okay, you're okay, breathe." He nodded and smiled over at me. _Oh god, even at a time like this he could be caring… Focus, Jess. There's a bomb, remember?_ "You're doing brilliantly. Now you can see the cylinder, can you?"

There was just something about Becker that meant he was able to make me feel warm and fuzzy by complimenting me and completely terrified by reminding me that I was standing next to a bomb in the same sentence.

"Yes, I can see… I can see a cylinder," I rushed to tell him, relieved that I could see it.

"Good," Becker responded. "Now, I want you to come over here…"

"Okay," I told him eagerly. Anything to help, especially if it got me away from the huge explosive in the room.

"There's a pair of pliers on that table," He told me. As I hurried over, I noticed he seemed to really be struggling. Of course it wasn't because he was weak - Becker was probably the strongest man I knew - but that weight was _really heavy_. "Quickly now."

"Okay," I breathed again.

"Use those. Most carefully, okay, cut the _red_ wire. Do not touch the green wire."

"Okay," I repeated. _Red wire, red wire, red wire…_

As I hurried back to the detonator, I decided to take my coat off. It was heavy and unnecessary. If I didn't mess this up, I could put it back on later, and if I _did_ mess it up… well, the coat wasn't really going to help, was it?

_Focus, Jess!_

I heard Becker mumble something under his breath.

I peeled back the cover to the black box again.

"Hurry, Jess."

Then I realised the problem. I swear my heart skipped a beat. I didn't want to tell him that there was a problem, the situation was bad enough as it is, but I had too. "Umm…"

"It's getting heavy," He calmly told me.

"Th-There's… there's no green wire. It's just… two red wires. Which do I pick?"

The metronome sound suddenly picked up, getting louder and quicker. It was a countdown without numbers. I just knew something bad was going to happen _soon_.

Becker finally lost a little of his composure. "Get out now! I mean it, Jess!"

"Stop!" I shouted back. "Okay, just… hang on! I can… I can do this, okay?"

I wasn't sure if I wanted to do it for myself, or for Becker - I didn't want to die, but I wasn't going to leave him holding that weight to die alone. If I clipped the wrong wire the bomb would go off, and we'd be blown up along with the building, but that was going to happen if I did nothing anyway.

I hesitated, the pliers hovering above one of the wires. The metronome suddenly picked up, dashing back and forth almost in a frenzy.

_Oh god, I was going to die._

_Which one would Becker clip? Think, Jess, think!_

The left one - I remembered watching a film. Okay, so it was a movie, and they weren't really renowned for being correct, were they? But it was the best advice I had, the _only_ advice I had.

I didn't think after that, I just did it.

As I clipped the wire, the metronome abruptly stopped.

Becker dived onto the floor, releasing the weight, probably more as a reflex to get away from the explosion which we both thought would happen.

Then nothing happened.

I looked up, then exhaled, surprised, confused, relieved. Becker and I shared a look as he lay on the floor, exhausted.

"It worked!" I exclaimed as Becker hurried to his feet. _We were alive! _I ran towards him in the euphoria. "I did it! I did it!"

I couldn't believe it! I'd disarmed a bomb. I hadn't died and I hadn't killed Becker! We were alive.

I didn't even think, I ran into his willing arms. He hugged me, smiling, his hand pressed firmly on my back, almost as if to make sure he was alive.

"You are truly brilliant," He stressed.

"I know," I pulled away from him, grinning. "I am."

_I just diffused a bomb! Oh my god!_

We smiled at each other, and I felt wonderful. If there was anything that Becker should see about me to prove I wasn't insane, it was this. Yep, the ability to diffuse a bomb was a positive quality in a person.

He hugged me again, burying his face in my hair.

_Becker is hugging me!_ My internal fan girl squealed. _I was so hopelessly falling for him._

Suddenly, he pulled away at the sound of approaching soldiers. He obviously didn't want to give them anything to tease him about. Becker liked to keep an air of mystery about him.

They entered the room in formation, guns at the ready. _A little late, aren't you?_

Becker was immediately in control, despite just facing a near death experience. "I want you to search the area - now. _Now,_ come on!"

I placed my hands on my head, then sank to the floor, moving my hands over my heart, checking it was still beating and that I was alive.

I was completely overwhelmed.

What had just happened?

Beside me, Becker was in hurried conversation with another soldier. I looked up at him and caught his eye.

He smiled widely.

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><p><strong>Please let me know what you think! :) Thank you for reading. Last chapter up should be up soon. Hopefully it's cute and you all like it! :)<strong>


	3. Jess 3

**Again, thank you so much for reading and for the lovely reviews you left if you reviewed. I'm really not sure of this chapter. The last two largely involved speech from the episode so I hope this works. Also, let me know what you think of how I've written the other characters - critique or compliments are wonderful! :)**

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><p>A soldier drove Becker and I back to the ARC - even though Becker complained he could drive, they wouldn't let him. Protocol, they'd said, called for somebody else to drive, in case we were suffering mentally from the events of the day.<p>

Becker wasn't one to dodge protocol, so he reluctantly agreed.

However, he had grumbled about it for a long while. Irritated from not being in control, he'd fidgeted with the EMD in his hands until we arrived.

Once we were back at the ARC, I went immediately to my seat at the ADD. It was mostly just an instinctive reaction, but there was nowhere else for me to be at that precise moment. I knew Lester would want to talk to me, and the others - Matt, Connor and Abby - would want details of what had happened. So I sat at my computer and moved a few files around. My heart wasn't it in.

_I cannot believe that just happened! You're alive._

_Becker's alive!_

_You disarmed a bomb, Jess! A BOMB!_

_And Becker was there to see it!_

_Oh my god, how was I going to explain this to my family?_

Then I realised that I couldn't. They didn't really know what I did for a living anyway. Well, they knew I worked for a semi-private semi-government owned corporation which was important in national security, but not what exactly we did. Besides, I was the computer technician, I wasn't really put in danger.

_Except when I stupidly went into the field with Chinese food because of a crush on a soldier._

_Well, how was I supposed to know there was a bomb?_

Abby's voice and Connor's heavy footing brought me out of my internal argument.

"Jess!" Abby called as her and Connor crossed the room. "What happened?"

I swung round in my swivel chair, my smile only a little forced - after all, I _was_ alive, but I had still faced the scariest thing in my life. _It was even worse than that time I'd had to perform alone on stage at school._ "Ethan left a bomb at the apartment. Becker disarmed it- well, I disarmed it, but Becker told me what to do."

Abby, to her credit, looked horrified. "But you're okay?"

I nodded. Connor remained quiet, but it looked like he wanted to burst with the multitude of comments (probably inappropriate ones) his brain had no doubt thought up. It seemed Abby had probably told him to not say anything stupid and Connor being Connor had correctly interpreted this as _everything_ he said.

Matt appeared at that moment. "Jess!" He shouted in his strong accent as he crossed the room, evidently in a hurry. "Where's Becker?"

"He went…" My eyebrows creased. _Where _did_ he go?_

_Well done, Jess - you usually have an uncanny "Becker-radar" but right when he's needed it fails you._

"I'm right here," Becker's trademark half-amused, half-serious voice spoke up as he walked out of the lift with a file in his hand. "Going to see Lester?"

"Yeah," Matt confirmed and they walked into Lester's office, looking all business, closing the door just slowly enough for Abby, Connor and I to hear Lester impatiently complain, "Don't you people ever _knock_?"

The most annoying thing about Lester's office was undoubtedly that the walls were glass. Whenever Becker was in there talking to him, which was usually at least once a day to keep him up to date with the status of security, it was always so distracting.

_Maybe you shouldn't turn and stare at him then?_

_Shut up._

My gaze lingered on the side of his face as I watched him mutely respond to something Lester had said, an amused expression on his face as a smile played at his lips.

I smiled too, luckily having just enough sense to not sigh happily.

"Jess," Abby called as Connor waved a hand in front of my face.

I blushed. "Sorry!"

"Connor was talking to you," she smirked knowingly at catching me staring at Becker.

"Oh, sorry, Connor! What were you saying?"

"What was it like disarming a bomb?" He asked enthusiastically.

I let out a smile laugh at the contrast between his excitement and the fear I'd felt, "Scary."

"Well yeah, but we've all had our fair share of bombs, haven't we?" Connor joked. Upon catching Abby's disapproving look, he shut up and stopped smiling.

I had to smile a little at his enthusiasm and ability to joke in any situation, or to stick his foot in it in every situation.

_Oh god, if I was a guy, I'd be Connor._

_Well, perhaps I'd be a __**little**__ more sensible._

"Connor…" Abby reprimanded him in an undertone. "Stop talking."

"Right," He agreed.

Before we were in danger of sinking into total silence, Matt, Backer and Lester trailed out of his office and came to join us by the ADD. Matt stood at a computer at the top of the steps besides Abby, Becker came and stood by the table near me and Lester stood only close enough so that he didn't have to shout. I could tell that he was going to say whatever it was he wanted to say, then retreat back into his office the first chance he got.

"Jess," Lester addressed me. Although he was my boss, I only took him half seriously most of the time. Now, however, I was nervous - I shouldn't have been in the field. "I just read Becker's report - you come off like a hero."

I kept my eyes trained on the metal banister Connor was casually leaning on and away from Becker, but I could feel my face heating up at the compliment. I could sense Becker moving out of the corner of my eye. He was probably trying to distract himself. A moment later this was confirmed when I heard the unmistakable sound of the EMD being recharged.

"You two make quite a team," Abby commented teasingly.

I looked up just in time to see Becker roll his eyes and stalk off towards the armoury.

_Well done, Jess, don't say anything at all after he called you a 'hero'_.

_Well, that was Lester's word, not Becker._

_Still, he must have suggested it in his report._

I smiled to myself. Apart from the whole "nearly-being-killed-by-a-bomb" thing, this evening had been rather worthwhile - I'd had dinner with Becker and he'd witnessed me save his life.

I turned back to the ADD, running my last usual checks before leaving for the night. I heard Matt call goodbye as Lester sauntered back towards his office, complaining, "How am I supposed to explain _this_ to the Minister? Two of my own team almost bested by a Victorian villain who doesn't technically exist?"

"Can't you just… not tell 'em?" Connor suggested innocently.

I was staring at the computer screen but, judging by the silence that followed this sentence, Lester had evidently given him a dirty look and taken refuge from Connor in his office.

"We're going to head back to the apartment, Jess. You coming?" Abby asked.

"Umm, I've got a few things to check on here," I swivelled back in my chair to face them. "You guys go ahead. I won't be long."

Just before they were out of sight, almost disappearing into the corridor, Connor turned back suddenly, "Hang on, what were you doing there anyway?"

Abby didn't scold him this time, she titled her head in consideration.

"Me? Uh…" I gulped. I could feel my face heating up again. _Don't tell them, Jess, they'll only tease you more. Oh god, why did I have to run into a bomb today of all days?_ "I was… in the neighbourhood…"

Abby and Connor shared a pointedly understanding look, a smirk which told me they knew it had been something to do with my obvious crush on Becker.

_Sometimes the way they just __**understood**__ each other was a little unnerving._

"Uh huh?" Abby raised her eyebrows, her expression teasing, making me squirm and blush again.

_Think of something better, Jess! You're a genius, think of __**something**__!_

I stuttered by way through my next words, "I mean, I was… you know, the route was-"

"Jessica?" Becker's entrance thankfully interrupted me.

I jumped and Abby, Connor and I all turned to stare at him at the exact same moment. He looked a little unnerved by the reaction, stopping just short of the lift doors. He was immediately suspicious after judging our facial expressions - he knew he'd just interrupted _something._

"Y-Yes?"

"Never mind," He creased his eyebrows in confusion at Abby feigning an innocent expression for a moment, then turned back to me. "I'll tell you later."

"That's okay, we were just leaving. Weren't we, Connor?"

"Well, actually, I was just going to ask-"

"Now, Connor," Abby glanced at him with renewed expression in her eyes and he finally got the message.

"Right," He agreed again and they took their leave swiftly. Abby raised her eyebrows at me as she left.

"What was that about?" Becker asked, confusion etched clearly across his face as he came and joined me by the ADD.

"Oh, you know Abby and Connor…" I tried to answer vaguely.

Luckily it worked and he turned to the laptop on the desk beside me, nodding once.

_Good going, Jess. Now he doesn't even care._

_At least he's not asking questions! You can't have it both ways!_

I turned back to the ADD. He simple leaned over the laptop, fussing with the keyboard.

For two or three minutes it was silent, Lester making calls in his office and Becker and I working at the computers we were staring at. Well, I was preoccupied by his presence beside me, so I just sat there and stared at files, half of me hoping he'd say something but the other half hoping he'd leave so that I could focus on my work and go home.

He seemed to be having trouble logging in to the computer. He was hopeless with a computer - truly hopeless.

I thought it was sweet.

_Really, how could somebody be __**that**__ bad with technology?_

Suddenly Lester's muffled voice sounded through the glass division. "Well it _was_ all under my guidance, of course," He boasted.

Becker and I both turned at the sound, catching each other's eye as we turned back to our work. We exchanged disbelieving smiles, Becker rolled his eyes as I shook my head.

"After all the work he's done tonight he deserves a knighthood," I joked.

Becker smiled back in a way that made me melt.

_Focus, Jess!_

Luckily he turned back to the computer, tapping the keyboard in a way that can only be described as an attack. I stifled a laugh.

"Jess, this thing's locked me out," He suddenly turned back towards me, slight annoyance crossing his face. I tried to make my expression blank, but I was sure it came across as an amused smirk. "Can you fix it?"

I gave a sigh, feigning annoyance, and pulled my chair the inch or two so that I was sitting beside him. He leaned his head forwards, besides mine, as we both stared at the screen. "Honestly Becker, you can face down raptors and diffuse bombs but you can't sign in to a computer?" I teased.

I glanced at him, amused. He had his "Oh, you really want to go there?" entertained expression on his face, tilting his head to observe my expression better.

"I'm not exactly into technology, Jessica," He smirked. "Unless it involves firepower."

I raised my hands in mock surrender, grinning widely, as I set to work bringing up the appropriate screens to allow him to sign in again. He appeared to become engrossed in what I was doing because he stared at the screen for a few minutes without speaking.

_Oh god, he's __**right**__ next to you, Jess. Don't panic, don't do anything stupid. Just be you._

_On second thoughts, just remain neutral. Calm._

I was so engrossed in giving myself advice I almost missed his next words. His lips were so close to my ear, however, that they were hard to miss, even though he was whispering them.

"Thank you, Jessica," I chanced a glance up at him - my fingers had frozen anyway. "For saving my life today."

I blushed, but didn't take my eyes off him as he looked at me sincerely.

"You told me what to do, Becker. You told me… I just did what you told me to do."

"Still," He continued. "You could have left- You _should_ have left," He mock glared at me but I knew he was serious, then his face became soft again. "But you didn't, you stayed and helped me… so thank you, Jessica."

I inhaled sharply, but quietly. Becker wasn't a particularly 'touchy' type of person, both physically and emotionally, but being this close to him and having him talk openly to me, showing his true emotions, was much better than anything I could have wished for.

Not that I didn't want the hug.

Hug's from him were rare - in fact, I'd never seen him hug anybody before… _He must hug his mum, right?_

_I couldn't imagine Becker with his mum…_

_Focus._

"You're welcome," I smiled, turning back to the computer and tapping one last final key to log him in. "There - all done."

He didn't answer my proud declaration, so I turned to him. He was studying me with a look of… curiosity - or revelation - in his eyes, a small smile attempting to play at the corner of his lips.

As much as I had dreamed of Becker looking at me with so much _awareness_, I was a little self-conscious. "What…" I asked weakly.

"Can you promise me something?" He asked out of the blue.

I was so surprised that he'd enter into something so much in the 'friendship zone' as a promise that I agreed immediately.

Who was I kidding, I'd promise him anything.

Except leaving him to be blown up by a bomb.

"Don't _ever_ go out into the field again," He was serious, but he smiled affectionately at me.

"Deal," I smiled back.

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><p><strong>Thank you so so much for reading! I'd love one last review if it's not too cheeky to ask for? :) Also, somebody suggested maybe I should write the chapters from Becker's POV, but I'm not sure that it would be worthwhile? Maybe another episodescene. If so, which do you think?** **Thank you for reading!**


	4. Becker 1

**Okay, so quite a few of you wanted to read this in Becker's POV, and I was excited about the challenge. I found him more difficult than Jess (perhaps we all have a crazy 'talking to yourself' Jess side?) so let me know what you think. :) I'm going to write the other two chapters in Becker's POV too, just to round this story off, so I'd love to hear any improvements on Becker you can think of.**

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><p>It just didn't seem right that all the men had to give up their evening to sit in a depressing car park, whittling away the time they could be with their girlfriends or wives and children by playing card games and waiting for a man to turn up who probably wouldn't be back any time soon.<p>

It was a waste of resources, to be honest.

They'd all be tired in the morning, unfocused and slow, and I didn't particularly feel like trying to command grumbling men. _It was impossible._

Besides, they were on alert if they were needed, and being here would make them all more likely to be seen by Ethan if large numbers of them sat in multiple vehicles obviously keeping watch.

No, it was better that I was on my own.

Still… it would have been nice to have _somebody_ to talk to.

I could have asked one of the team, but, on reflection, thought better of it: Matt seemed to be busy, no doubt doing something secretive that I'd never get out of him if I asked. Abby and Connor were obvious no's - asking one would immediately mean having to deal with the other, meaning asking Abby meant Connor would be dragged along too. And Connor was just too _accident prone_. He'd probably somehow run into Ethan and put everyone else in danger. Neither of them were made for stakeouts - they'd get bored after an hour and Connor would drive me crazy with his complaints…

Which left Jess.

She wasn't a field agent, and I could never imagine her _in_ the field. She was unbelievably organised sitting behind her desk back at the ARC, tapping her ridiculously bright high heels on the floor as she controlled any situation which was thrown at her. But actually _in_ the action was not somewhere I imagined she'd want to be.

And I didn't want her there either.

It was better that she was safe back at the ARC, where I didn't have to worry about her.

Not that I _cared, _or anything. Definitely not. Nothing more than colleagues would, I mean.

So maybe I wasn't as mysterious and elusive as Matt was, but I still didn't really show my emotions for all to see. I'd known Abby and Connor the longest, but I'd never talked to them about anything… _personal_, like family or hobbies. Jessica, however, seemed to want to make me divulge this information to her…

It was… confusing.

I shook my head to rid it of those type of thoughts.

No, it was better to keep work at work.

Unfortunately, I spent an increasing amount of time at work. I'd always been a workaholic - what else was there to do? I didn't have the patience for _hobbies_ - but ever since the ARC had been renovated I'd been here much more.

Well, I didn't want Matt ruining it, did I?

Perhaps it had a little to do with Jess. I'd started having my lunch at the ARC, and taking my breaks by the ADD talking to her ever since we became… friends.

But that wasn't because I _liked_ her… I just enjoyed being in her company; she made me laugh and realise everything didn't have to be serious all the time. She was fun, especially to wind up, and her enthusiasm was infectious.

But, I mean, personally, I didn't _like_ her… It was unprofessional.

_Okay, so maybe I liked her_. _A little bit. Maybe._

I sighed, rubbing my hands across my face.

It was going to be a long, boring evening on my own.

A loud knock close to my face scared the life out of me. I jumped slightly, then scolded myself for being so jumpy.

I looked up to see Jess mouthing an apology at me. I rolled my eyes at her awkwardness, even though it was rather endearing.

_What in the world was she doing here? Didn't she know it could be dangerous if Ethan came back? Stakeouts were supposed to be stealthy, and Jess was anything _but _stealthy in those shoes of hers._

Which made me wonder, _How did she manage to sneak up on me?_

_There was only one way to find out the answer._

I rolled the window down.

"I thought you might be hungry," She smiled, speaking enthusiastically as always. "I hope you like Chinese?"

I stared at her in utter disbelief for a moment.

_Did she not realise I was trying to be discreet?_

I said the only thing my mind could comprehend, drawing her attention to the obvious. "Jessica, this is a stakeout."

"You still have to eat," She pointed out cheerfully. As happy as I was for company, _what was she doing here? _"I was just on my way home and I thought I'd drop by."

Her voice wavered slightly and she avoided making eye contact with me. I didn't need to be a trained soldier to tell a lie when I saw one.

Plus, I _knew _her - I could read her like a book.

"Jessica, I know where you live. It's miles away."

She lived all the way across town. There was no way she'd just ended up here by chance.

_But why would she purposefully turn up?_

_To see me?_

_Of course not, maybe she just… just…_

_I don't know._

Relationships confused me - work was much simpler, much more straight forward. At least I knew what tasks I had to do and how to accomplish them.

"Well, I like the scenic route," she smiled sweetly at me.

I didn't really know what to do. I couldn't just tell her to leave _in case_ something happened, because it was equally likely that Ethan wouldn't return tonight. Still, if she stayed she could be in danger if he _did_ turn up…

Unless she stayed in the car…

After all, she _had_ brought Chinese - my favourite - and she _was_ good company…

_What the hell._

"Got any Prawn Crackers?" I grinned.

_It couldn't hurt to relax for once, right?_

_What was the worst that could happen?_

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><p>There was a reason why Jessica Parker was <em>not<em> a field agent.

She was truly hopeless at aiming at a target.

Somehow we'd got round to me trying to teach her to throw Prawn Crackers through the headrests of the seats. The car was messier than it had ever been.

She tried again, aiming widely off target and the Prawn Cracker landed a few inches from where she sat.

I shook my head in disbelief at her as I laughed.

_She'd be terrible with an EMD and a creature._

"It's harder than it looks!" She complained.

My answer was to simply prove her wrong, throwing the Prawn Cracker I had been halfway through eating and hitting the target perfectly, the Cracker landing in the boot.

I knew she hated being outsmarted and I was right when she turned and gave me a mock glare.

_She looked so adorable when she was annoyed._

_Whoa, snap out of it._

"It takes training," I spoke to rid my mind of those type of thoughts - the ones I sometimes couldn't keep control of. I couldn't help a hint of arrogance from creeping into my voice, after all, it had taken me _years_ of hard-work and training to get where I was today.

"Oh, so that's what soldiers do for training, is it?" Jess teased. "Shoot Chinese food at targets?"

I smirked, playing her game. "Unfortunately, Jessica, that's top secret information. I can't confirm or deny it."

I heard her laugh as I thought about the difference between how we'd arrived at the same place.

She was a lot younger than me, only nineteen, probably fresh out of whatever higher education she'd taken after secondary school, whereas I'd dropped out of school and joined the army. The forces had shaped me into who I was today and my training had brought me to the ARC, rather than a recommendation from some professional tutor.

Not that I didn't respect her - Jess may have looked innocent and inexperienced with real work when I'd met her, but I soon found out she was a brilliant coordinator. There was a reason she'd been placed at the ARC.

As I turned to the monitor in front of me, completing another of my regular checks for Ethan, Jess started to shuffle about beside me. I ignored it, switching through a few screens to check the other camera angles, just in case he managed to slip past and into the building.

_It would take me roughly fifteen seconds to get from here to the hallway where the camera was. By that time there were only three possible escapes Ethan could take, one of which involved the window, which was highly unlikely - he'd never make it to the floor alive. To take the second he would have to pass straight by me, which left only the third exit, which I could get to if I hurried when he appeared._

_This was all provided he managed to sneak past the car I was sitting in, unnoticed._

Deep in thought, I turned away from the monitor, only to jump again because Jess was so close beside me.

"Jessica!" I sighed, half in annoyance.

She gave me a sheepish smile, then leaned back towards her own chair, shoe in hand. "Sorry, but as a soldier, you are rather jumpy today."

"I'm just…" I couldn't think of the right word for a few seconds, "on edge."

"Waiting for Ethan to show up?" She asked knowingly as she placed her shoes on.

_No wonder she'd been able to sneak up on me._

She had a point. Rather than keeping an eye out in case Ethan turned up, I had started to treat this stakeout as if I was waiting _until_ he turned up. We didn't even know for a fact if he would return, not really.

I just had a _feeling_.

But what if he didn't? What if I'd lost him _again_?

I sighed, _this job was getting increasingly stressful._

I nodded in response to her comment, and voiced my thoughts. "This is definitely the place, but he hasn't been back at all since we arrived earlier. I'm just worried he might not turn up at all, and we've lost him again…"

"You couldn't have lost him," She immediately insisted. "You're too good for that."

I glanced over at her, surprised. Not that she'd blurted out her thoughts - she was always doing that, and I found it refreshing - but because she was putting so much blind faith in me, as if I was perfect at my job.

I smiled at her, trying not to laugh at her shocked and embarrassed expression.

"I didn't mean to say that," she mumbled, horrified by her tendency to impulsively speak her mind.

It was always funny when she embarrassed herself at my expense, because I actually found it adorable, whereas she evidently thought it terrible. However, her faith in me was something I hadn't experienced for a long while - not personally anyway, I was always considered reliable at my job, but my family put little hope in my success professionally ever since I quit school early to join the army.

It meant a lot that somebody trusted me for who they knew me as.

"Thank you, Jessica," I told her sincerely. She looked up in surprise at my tone of voice, knowing I was being truthful.

Then she beamed back and said, in a tone as happy as only Jess could muster, "You're welcome."

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><p><strong>Thank you so much for reading! I'm away for the weekend so there will be a little bit of a gap between this and the next chapter but you all have more important lives to be getting on with in the mean time so I'm sure you won't mind. I'd love a review to know what you think of Becker's POV? :)<strong>


	5. Becker 2

**Sorry it took a little longer to get this one up - I didn't realise it would be so long. Becker thinks a lot more in this situation, I think perhaps because he's less active than Jess in the scene. Anyway, I hope you like it and I hope there aren't too many mistakes. Also, I just want you to know that, as my good friend SabreDae declared the other day, I have a _"Beckession"_ - that's a Becker Obsession - so I will probably write more Becker/Jess's after this (especially after Season 5 Episode 4, did you see it? Major Jecker! I made me very happy).**

**Let me know what you think, if it's in character, because I _so_ hope it is! Also, let me know if you too have a Beckession. (Of course you do!)  
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><p>I'd never been good at sleeping in cars. I don't even know how I managed it on a stakeout - usually I'm too adrenaline-filled to do so, but tonight I did.<p>

I think the uncomfortable headrests woke me up.

It was either that or the unusual weight of Jess - or anybody - sleeping on my shoulder.

I rubbed my hands across my eyes, trying to wake up. As futile as this stakeout was beginning to become, I knew I had to be awake, just in case.

_Falling asleep was a terrible idea. _I reprimanded myself. _Ethan could have crept past._

I glanced at Jess to make sure she was still asleep.

She shouldn't have come, I knew she shouldn't have, but she was safe and it was nice to have company. Jess wasn't a soldier, and being on this stakeout wasn't strictly under her job title, so I let her sleep.

Convinced that she looked peaceful, I turned to my next task - checking the monitor.

For a second everything was clear, the same as it had been all evening.

Then Ethan flickered into view.

My eyes widened.

He hurried up the stairs.

_How did he get there?_

On the monitor his black and white face seemed to smirk mockingly at the camera as he ascended to the next staircase.

"Dammit, he's in the house."

My voice roused Jess from her sleep. As she sat up she asked, confused "W… What happened?"

I made sure the EMD in my hand was charged, then opened the car door, "I'm going in. Call for backup. _Wait in the car._"

I stressed that last point as much as I could in the urgency of the moment, then hurried as fast, but as quietly, as I could to the staircase.

Carefully, I made my way up the stairs. It was dark and bare, but the light on the end of the gun illuminated everything in front of me. Ethan would see it before I saw him, but it didn't matter at this point. So long as I _could_ see him.

Besides, as far as I knew, Ethan didn't carry a handgun.

Hopefully.

I swung my body round the corner in the stairway, making sure the gun went first, just in case.

Nobody was there.

_He'll be behind one of these corners. He has to be._

I took the next stairs two at a time until I came to the next corner. Placing my back against the wall and my foot firmly on the floor in front of me, I took a deep, steadying breath.

Then I spun into the exposed empty corridor in front of me, gun raised at the ready.

Nothing.

I hurried down the dark hallway, dodging the strange equipment which I did not recognise but knew would probably give away my position if I knocked into it.

As much as I enjoyed the thrill of a chase, it was a comfort afterwards to know that I wasn't about to be attacked from behind.

_Damn it, Becker._

I glanced behind myself, checking Ethan hadn't managed to hide and sneak up on me.

I mentally scolded myself for not checking before - I needed to be one hundred percent alert if I was going into dangerous territory and forgetting to check my back was _not _beingalert.

A came to a doorway; the padlock was broken and the door was ajar.

This was it - it _had_ to be.

I entered the room stealthily, EMD first. There was nobody there.

_That couldn't be right. Where was Ethan?_

I set about checking the rest of the room, carefully making sure I looked underneath every desk or in each cubby hole. Ethan was devious and cunning - he was dangerous and he would have most likely thought up an escape plan before he entered the building.

Then my ankle collided with something.

I froze.

Looking down, I saw what appeared to be string running across the room. I lifted my foot up without thinking, then my brain kicked it.

I heard the sound of wire being pulled fast, and I realised what was happening.

I spun so fast but only just caught the weight in time, inches from the floor.

The inevitable sound of a metronome seemed to count down menacingly.

I had to figure out what exactly Ethan had set up because if it was what I thought it was… well…

_Don't think about it._

I snatched up the newspaper under my feet and followed the wires with my eyes as they connected with the metronome. The second wires ran in the opposite direction. The obstacle they attached to was covered in cloth, but, as a soldier, I could take a good guess at what was under the fabric.

It wasn't good.

I was alone in an abandoned warehouse-type building holding up a weight which would probably cause an explosion, most likely one that would kill me if I remained this close. But I couldn't let go, because I had no idea how large an explosion - the whole street could explode, the whole building.

The car park.

I silently hoped Jess had gone to wait for backup outside. I knew it was unlikely, especially after I had specifically hold her to stay in the car, but I just hoped this was one of those times that she didn't listen to me.

Which was most of the time.

Despite my situation, I smiled for a second. If I was going to die, at least I had had a nice last evening. Perhaps I had unfinished business with a few people, but it wasn't all that bad, after all, I had subconsciously expected to die suddenly one day out in the field, by a creature from the Jurassic or something, so I tried to make my peace with people as I went. Losing Sarah had taught me that.

Thinking about her reminded me of the current team, and how I'd miss them all individually if I _did_ die: Matt, he had slowly become more than a colleague, a friend, and I'd been meaning to say something about it but… well it didn't matter now, he knew anyway; Connor and Abby, I should have told them how much I respected them, and valued their friendship; My old Sandhurst buddies, they would probably be sad, but we hadn't spoken in years, so there was little more to say than thank you for keeping me strong through our training; and Jess.

I stumbled there. I didn't even want to admit anything to myself, even when I knew there was a good chance I would die. _Now was not the time to think about this, about relationships. You should be thinking of ways to get out of this without blowing the building up._

_There may not _be_ another time_, part of my brain told myself.

I shook my head as I readjusted my hold on the weight. _Don't be ridiculous - you're acting as you're about to die. For all I knew, it could be something entirely different from a bomb under that cloth…_

If only I could reach the fabric and pull it off, _then _I'd know…

If only I had an extra pair of hands…

A flash light blinded my eyes as loud heels, indicating awkward movements, resonated into the room at that precise moment.

As my eyes adjusted to the white light, I quickly made out Jess's frightened face behind the gun.

I was surprised - I didn't think she even knew how to _hold_ the gun.

I scolded myself again - of course she could, otherwise the ARC wouldn't have hired her. Yes, she was only supposed to work in the office, but the ARC covered all their bases.

_You should know,_ I told myself._ It had been your rule after Abby and Connor went missing. All personnel had to have some basic training._

However, Jess may have been trained with basic weapons, but she was no soldier and I was unsure how erratic her emotions would be in a situation with as much high-tension as this. People tended to have varying responses when confronted with danger, but they usually boiled down to two things: fight or flight.

I hurried to calm her down, for my sake and hers. "Don't shoot, don't shoot! It's me."

She moved further into the room, the sound of her heels harsh.

"Don't move," I warned again. "This place is rigged with traps. Walk slowly… that way, yeah."

_The last thing we needed was _another_ bomb._

Jess sighed with relief that it was me, and probably also that I seemed to be calm and in control, and walked where I showed her to with my eyes.

When her confused face was directly in my eye line, I saw her glance about the room and then ask in a timid voice, "Where's Ethan?"

"Not here," I replied simply, quickly. "But he's left us a little gift… There's a pressure pad under my left foot, it's attached to that metronome." I nodded towards the metronome. Jess followed my vision, taking in all of what I was saying. "And I think that's a bomb." She inhaled sharply as I continued. "This counter weight hits the floor… well, I think that detonates the bomb as well… I need you to come over here, and tell me if I'm right, okay?"

Jess hesitated.

I didn't blame her. She had probably just been wondering what had been taking me so long, had got impatient, as she did, and wandered up here to find me. Walking into a bomb on the way.

The ridiculousness of the situation was so _Jess_ I had to stop myself from laughing - an inappropriate response, but it still manifested.

For a second though I thought she would run - sometimes people couldn't help but shy from sudden danger - or freeze up completely, in which case she would be useless as help.

Then she suddenly roused herself into action, rousing me out of my thoughts.

_Of course she did,_ I reminded myself. _Jess was never useless_.

"Okay, okay," She started towards the large object behind me, the one covered in fabric.

I tried to do what I could to keep her safe as she navigated about the room, "And there's a trip wire there," I pointed out. As she reached the fabric I calmly instructed her, "Now just really… _really_ gently pull that off."

She gripped the fabric in her hand and I unwillingly held my breath.

Methodical, organised, dependable: these were all words I associated with Jess. 'Careful', however, was not. It only took one slip and the bomb, if it _was_ a bomb, could explode.

I didn't want to frighten her, so I remained calm.

The fabric fell and she gasped.

For a split second I didn't want to believe it. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping to forget the situation for a moment.

_This was terrible_.

Then I told myself I was being unrealistic. I _had_ to deal with this. I was here. Stuck. With a bomb.

There was only one thing left to do.

Jess couldn't stay. I wasn't going to let her get hurt. "That could destroy the entire building. You need to get out of here - _now_."

"No! I-"

"Go, _now!_"

_Why was she arguing?_

"I'm not leaving you…." She retorted. "I'm not leaving you."

I hesitated.

She was stubborn: I knew she wouldn't leave, unless I made her, and I wasn't exactly in a situation where I could force her away.

I exhaled angrily. _I hated Ethan right about now. _"He _knew_ we were watching him. You need to leave now."

She just _had _to go - I cared about her too much to let her die because of me.

She shifted her weight on her feet, but didn't go. Instead she seemed to have an epiphany, and told me in a determined voice, "Becker, you tell me what to do. You can tell me…. come on."

I grunted, the weight becoming incredibly heavy. I didn't think I'd be able to hold it for much longer.

If she wasn't going to leave, then we _had _to stop the bomb from exploding.

Besides, she could do this. I _knew_ she could. Jess could do anything.

I nodded. As she hurried round the back of the bomb I directed her as calmly as I could. "Tell me what you can see."

"Um, yeah, there's a… there's a black box."

I rolled my eyes at her, but kept my voice neutral. "What's inside it? Take the back off it. Tell me what you see."

I tried to readjust the weight but it was becoming so heavy now that I could hardly shift my own body weight without it putting a huge strain on my muscles.

"Umm, loads and _loads_ of wires," she called back.

I couldn't help my voice showing my evident struggle as I spoke. "There should be a small cylinder, the detonator, with two wires. A red and a green wire coming out the bottom of it."

_I hope she understood what I meant_.

I waited for a second as she appeared to check.

Suddenly there was a burst of smoke. I jolted in surprise, sudden adrenaline coursing through me as Jess let out a small scream, covering her mouth with her hands.

For a split second I thought something terrible had happened to her.

"Don't touch anything!" I snapped, a little angrily, in the heat of the moment. After a second I realised my mistake - she was only trying to help and I had to remain calm. If _I_ was panicking, she would panic. I levelled my voice as I realised just how brave she was by staying with me. "Can you see that? You're okay, you're okay, breathe." I smiled at her. _Why didn't you tell her how you felt before? Not that I know exactly how I feel, I just know I care about her_, _but still, you should have said __**something**__. _"You're doing brilliantly. Now you can see the cylinder, can you?"

"Yes, I can see… I can see a cylinder," She breathed out, relieved.

"Good," I reassured her. _Next step._ "Now, I want you to come over here…"

"Okay."

"There's a pair of pliers on that table," I continued. As she swiftly made her way over there I had to force my muscles to work. This weight was getting too heavy - if we didn't do this soon, I was going to have to make her leave. I didn't care _how_, she just couldn't stay. "Quickly now."

"Okay."

"Use those. Most carefully, okay, cut the _red_ wire," I stressed. This _was_ Jess, after all. "Do not touch the green wire."

"Okay," She replied again.

She took her coat off as she hurried back to the bomb, pliers in hand, thankfully remembering to dodge the trip wire. My eyebrows creased ever so slightly. _Surely the coat would be good protection if we _did_ blow up?_

I let it slide. In the grand scheme of things, Jess taking off her coat wasn't too important right now.

Besides, if I had time, _I _was going to try to at least protect her so she didn't absorb the full impact of the blast. Hopefully it wouldn't be too powerful, and I'd escape with a few broken bones, bruises and burns.

Or was that just wishful thinking?

As a soldier I'd been in the company of some of the most pessimistic and sceptical people. Because most of them had experienced the death of one or another of their comrades or felt the burden of guilt for causing a death through mistakes, most had a negative outlook on life. I'd quickly come to realise that all that trouble could be avoided if I kept my distance from people and made sure I didn't leave any room for error.

Still, mistakes found a way of happening… Sarah and that girl at the school were perfect examples.

Also, as much as I'd tried, as good as I'd become at it, Jess had still managed to find a way through my defences. I didn't even _want_ to push her away any more.

I breathed out a frustrated complaint, whispering, "You should have told her, Becker," as I felt the muscles in my arms attempt to spasm at the immense strain of holding up the weight for so long.

_I don't think I can hold this for long._

"Hurry, Jess."

"Umm…"

"It's getting heavy," I didn't want to scare her, so I kept my voice calm. Besides, if she said she could do this, she could do it. I trusted her.

"Th-There's… there's no green wire. It's just… two red wires. Which do I pick?"

_Of course, _I thought sarcastically, bitterly.

When things went wrong, they went badly wrong, it seemed. Not only had I been tricked into getting caught by a bomb, but Jess was also here, Ethan had escaped and now there was virtually no way to disarm the bomb, short of _guessing_.

I didn't fancy a guess.

As the metronome sound suddenly picked up I realised this was it. We probably had a little over thirty seconds.

I didn't try to remain calm or hide my emotions. "Get out now! I mean it, Jess!"

"Stop!" She shouted, catching me off guard. "Okay, just… hang on! I can… I can do this, okay?"

I faltered. I knew she was determined, and stubborn, but this time her trust in herself was going to get her killed. Perhaps she was underestimating the sensitivity of the situation, perhaps I couldn't trust her judgement in this instance.

Regardless, I definitely trusted my judgement - and that was that Jessica Parker was brilliant.

I shut up and concentrated on the weight.

As the metronome notes blurred into one, I knew this was it. My life was possibly in her hands.

She clipped a wire.

In that split second I knew the room could explode, so I threw myself on the floor, jumping clear of the weight as it collided with the pressure pad. Jess was too far away, if the bomb exploded I couldn't help.

But nothing happened.

I hesitated, waited a second, then breathed out a relieved breath, exhausted physically from holding the weight and mentally - turns out there isn't much to do while you hold a bomb other than to _think_ and reassess your life critically.

My eyes sought out Jess - she was completely fine, breathing, grinning - I returned the smile as victory sunk in.

"It worked!" She seemed surprised at herself. I stood up, suddenly needing to move. She apparently did too, because she ran towards me, exuberant. "I did it! I did it!"

She practically threw herself into my arms.

Let's get this straight - I don't hug people. Ever. Not my sisters, not my father. Granted, I make an exception for my mother, but even then I try to avoid her bone crushing hugs if I can.

But I hugged Jess.

She made me feel alive, truly alive; the warmth of her back under my hand, her breath on my neck. She was _real_.

_Of course you did, _I thought.

"You are truly brilliant," I emphasised sincerely.

"I know," She smiled at me. "I am."

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes at her, instead I smiled again.

I don't think I'd ever shown so much genuine emotion in front of somebody before.

By unspoken consent, we hugged each other again - I buried my face in her hair, incredibly glad to have her with me.

_Still thinking of telling her how you feel, Becker?_ A small part of my brain interrupted.

_Maybe it wouldn't be the best idea, professionally…_

_Chicken._

Before I could get lost in my internal argument, I heard the sound of heavy boots marching swiftly down the corridor outside. Without thinking I broke swiftly away from Jess as they entered the room.

It wasn't that I was _embarrassed_ at what they'd think or anything…

The men were alert for action.

_As well they should be, Ethan was still out there._ "I want you to search the area - now. _Now,_ come on!"

As I clapped my hands to emphasise my point the Second in Command hurried over to be briefed on the situation. As I spoke I was acutely aware of Jess nearby, sinking to the floor in exhaustion.

As I spoke to the soldier, I caught her eye from across the room.

I beamed at her in gratitude, relief, happiness.

She grinned back, her eyes shining brightly due to the exhilaration from the moment.

_She was brilliant._

She had saved my life.

_Completely, utterly and truly brilliant._

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><p><strong>Please review! I'm feeling down at the moment, on account that I do not own Primeval, or Ben Mansfield. Not that anyone owns Bens Mansfield. That would be weird.<strong>

**Anyhoo, thank you for reading and reviews would make me happy!**_  
><em>


	6. Becker 3

**Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry with how long this took to update. I found Becker's POV in this scene, which I'd come up with to suit Jess, kinda difficult. It's my own fault really. Anywho, thank so so so so much for reading and reviewing this you guys! You're all wonderful people! I'll ramble some more at the end - for now, this is Becker's POV. :)  
><strong>

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><p>It was ridiculous.<p>

I was fine - I had been trained extensively and for years to effectively handle high tension situations like the one we'd been in today. And I _had _been in them before, after all. Obviously never with somebody I cared about as much as I cared about Jess by my side, so perhaps I was a little more distracted than usual, but still… we had handled it together.

We had looked after each other, and we had come out of it completely fine.

Therefore, I could drive - I was perfectly capable of getting in my own vehicle and driving back to the ARC like I had done so many times before. Jess knew it, the soldiers knew it, _I_ knew it.

Yet my men insisted on adhering to _protocol_.

_Why did I have to discipline them, again?_

I rolled my eyes as I fidgeted in the car. Jess caught my gaze as I looked across the seats at her: she smirked, evidently knowing _exactly_ what I was thinking.

_How did she do that?_

She never ceased to amaze me.

As I half-glared back she mouthed "_Stop sulking_" amusedly.

I rolled my eyes at her again, mouthing "_I'm not._" in defence. Even as I did it I was aware that I sounded like a child.

She laughed aloud, shaking her head to show that she didn't believe me, but turned back to the window.

I watched her for a moment, transfixed - she was dusty, dishevelled and tired - understandable since she'd just diffused a bomb - but she was still cheerful, optimistic, fun. Still Jess.

She was stronger than she looked.

She had saved my life.

I couldn't help a smile form on my lips. For a moment, it stayed plastered there, becoming a grin, until I realised what I was doing.

I glanced wearily, and quickly, at the two soldiers in front of us, behind the wheel and in the passenger seat, just in case they noticed my reaction - the last thing I needed was for my men to have a reason to make fun of me.

Garrett, who was driving, smirked as his eyes flicked back to the road through the rear-view mirror. Johnson, thankfully, hadn't noticed.

To distract myself from everything, I took out the EMD from my holster and set about disassembling and reassembling the weapon.

It relaxed me a little.

Jess went straight to the hub, probably to sit at her computer and enjoy the familiarity and comfort it offered, as I hurried down to the armoury - my comfort.

I knew Lester would want a report as soon as possible - he'd radioed in over the Comms (even Jess was surprised he'd remembered how the system worked) to let Matt and I know he wanted to speak with us as soon as possible.

I knew Matt would be at least ten minutes, coming from home, so I decided to get the brief written and out of the way.

Seven minutes later I managed to print off a report, enlisting the help of some poor girl who I recognised as working near Jess sometimes on the smaller computers, and took the lift back up to the hub.

As the doors opened I heard Matt's voice mentioning my name, and then Jess' confused one followed with, "He went…"

"I'm right here," I interrupted them, swinging the report in my right hand as I made my way across the room, heading towards Lester's office. I glanced at Matt as I went, "Going to see Lester?"

"Yeah," Matt confirmed.

He joined me by the doorway, giving me a cursory glance, raising his eyebrows at my dishevelled look, and then we entered Lester's office.

"Don't you people ever _knock_?" The bureaucrat asked sarcastically.

"Sorry, sir, must have slipped my mind, what with all the bomb diffusing today..."

He raised his eyebrows at me. "I heard that was more of Jess' success than yours."

"She certainly did all the work," I agreed.

"And you have your report?"

"Right here," I indicated the file in my hand as I turned it over to him. To his credit, Lester tried to hide his surprise - I wasn't ever good with a desk job so deadlines weren't really my strong suit - I didn't blame him for being surprised.

Lester perused the file for a moment. Matt remained rigid, as if he had all the time in the world. After the events of the day, I was uncharacteristically fidgety again: it wasn't like me to be impatient, but I couldn't stay still with all the adrenaline that had run through my body earlier.

I could have died.

For a moment I'd even been convinced I was about to die.

Surprisingly, that didn't happen too often - I knew I _could_ die, every day I knew it, but I never really thought about '_What if it was today?_' I think the fear would slowly consume me if I did.

Jess had saved my life, and for that I was eternally grateful.

_Would I ever get a chance to return the favour?_

I hoped I didn't - I never wanted her to be in that position.

"Lester, Ethan is still out there," Matt brought me back to the office.

Lester looked up from the report, blinking and suddenly focussing his gaze on us. He hesitated, examining us, pausing in his 'Lester-like' way, before declaring sarcastically, "Well, what are you waiting for? That _is_ your job, isn't it?"

Matt and I exchanged a disbelieving look as we turned and exited the room.

"We'll start fresh tomorrow morning. Get some sleep, Becker," Matt told me as we wondered over to the main control desk where the others were dawdling, catching the last part of their conversation.

"Connor…" Abby reprimanded her awkward boyfriend in an undertone. "Stop talking."

"Right."

I went and stood beside the table by Jess, whilst Matt and Lester remained on top of the stairs.

"Jess," Lester addressed her as she crossed her legs and sat up straighter in her chair. "I just read Becker's report - you come off like a hero."

_Thanks for declaring that to the world, Lester_.

She blushed, looking everywhere but at me.

I had to stop myself from doing the same - fidgeting with my EMD did the job well. I boosted the charger and played with the safety catch until Abby spoke up.

"You two make quite a team," she teased.

I didn't think I could handle any more from her - Abby and Connor seemed to thrive in awkward situations. They loved them. Ever since they'd gotten back from the Cretaceous they enjoyed nothing more than to watch others squirm.

I rolled my eyes and retreated to the armoury.

I wanted to talk to Jess - see how she was, maybe force her to be checked over again by the ARC medic before she went home, and thank her.

I'd do it later, when the others left and weren't on the lookout for more things to tease us about.

I sighed as I entered the armoury.

I wasn't afraid of raptors, killer insects or future predators, but I did not talk about _feelings_. Not openly anyway.

Unfortunately, that's when I walked right into Garrett as he was returning his EMD to the charger bay.

"Everything okay, Captain?"

"Fine," I replied as I set about checking the EMD stores.

"How's Jess Parker?"

My hand hesitated for a split second over a gun, then I continued. "She says she's okay. I think she's still in shock though. I'm going to check on her later before I leave for the night."

"See you in two days then, Captain," He turned to leave.

"Two days?"

"You're not on the rota for tomorrow, Sir," He spun back to tell me.

"I'm not?" I concentrated on the floor for a second. "Well, I think I'll come in anyway, just to make sure… you know, given the situation.. I have work to do with Matt..."

Garrett raised his eyebrows at me. "I'm sure we could handle it without you for a day, Captain. You need some rest. You deserve it after today."

"All the same, Garrett, I think I'd best come in," I stated, subtly but kindly reminding him of my authority.

Garrett got the message, nodding once and walking out the door. Just before he left I heard him mutter back, "I'm sure Jess will be glad to see you."

I started as he left and the two soldiers on the other side of the room grinned at my expression.

"Wha-" I thought it best to deny any rumours of Jess and I to them, but, to my surprise, I couldn't bring myself to say it. Besides, they weren't buying my half-hearted protests.

"Relax, Captain," They smirked. "We all know she's got a thing for you."

"And vice versa," another soldier finished.

I froze.

_She did?_

_No, ignore that. You don't have a _'thing'_ for Jess… you just… you're friends._

_Oh, who are you kidding? Even the soldiers have noticed it._

For a moment I debated what to do: punish them for embarrassing me or let it go.

In the end I chose rationality - it was unfair to give them extra shifts and push ups simply because my ego was hurt.

I settled for glaring at them both. "Shouldn't you two be manning the gate?"

They hesitated, not expecting me to breeze right past the comment, then realised what I'd said and hurried off to work.

I sighed, standing in the middle of the empty, cold armoury for a moment.

I checked the clock - the others should have left by now, it was late, but Jess was most definitely still be sitting up by the ADD.

I decided to take the stairs - it wasn't far and the exercise would help me clear my head. Despite this, when I reached the corridor leading into the main control room I heard the unmistakable sound of Abby and Jess.

"Uh huh?"

Abby was teasing Jess, that much I knew. I took the last few steps into the room carefully and slowly, prolonging their realisation of my arrival, just to try and make out what they were saying.

"I mean, I was… you know, the route was-"

"Jessica?" I interrupted, deciding her sentences were so incoherent I wasn't going to gauge any real understanding of the conversation from her. I may as well put her out of her misery.

They all jumped - Abby, Jess and Connor, who I hadn't seen - and turned to me with identical expressions on their faces. It was unnerving. Whatever they had been talking about definitely involved me.

I gave Abby and Connor suspicious looks, reserving a smile for Jess, who had obviously been the victim in this conversation.

"Y-Yes?" She responded.

"Never mind," I glanced at Abby's smile of fake innocence then back at Jess. I'd talk to her when the others were gone. "I'll tell you later."

"That's okay, we were just leaving. Weren't we, Connor?"

"Well, actually, I was just going to ask-"

"Now, Connor," Abby and him shared a look, one which obviously contained a hidden meaning, because he responded with a quick, "Right," and they left, whispering animatedly as they did so.

As soon as the coast was clear and Jess and I clustered round the ADD, I asked, "What was that about?"

"Oh, you know Abby and Connor…" She mumbled, averting her gaze.

I wasn't dumb - she didn't want to tell me. As curious as I was, if Jess wanted to keep it to herself, I'd respect that. Besides, Abby's mischievous eyes scared me - I didn't think I'd _want_ to know.

Jess turned to the main computer and I to the laptop on the desk besides her, trying to log in. I say 'trying' because I had never got the hang of the ARC's computer system - I could surf the internet and stuff, but anything too technical just wouldn't stick in my mind. I didn't really need the laptop for anything either, I just wanted to stay a little longer. Hopefully work up the courage to show some feelings without my words coming out wrong and offending Jess.

I mentally scoffed at myself. _You're a soldier yet you still have to 'work up' the courage to speak to a girl?_

Suddenly Lester's muffled voice sounded through the glass division. "Well it _was_ all under my guidance, of course," He boasted.

I glanced up at the door, then towards Jess with a disbelieving look. I rolled my eyes at his boast. Jess shook her head, smiling, good naturedly.

"After all the work he's done tonight he deserves a knighthood," She joked.

I smiled back. _Exactly what I was thinking, Jessica._

When I turned back to the computer the screen read: _'Locked out. User/Password combination incorrect.'_

I stabbed my index finger at the enter key in frustration. Ammunition was much less aggravating, at least it did exactly what you told it to do - followed a straight line. Computers, on the other hand, just seemed to have a mind of their own.

"Jess, this thing's locked me out," I turned to her, expecting the smirk I caught on her face. She didn't smirk too often - it wasn't really Jess-like - but when she did she still managed to look beautiful. "Can you fix it?"

She sighed, evidently loving being the one in charge, as she rolled her chair beside me and in front of the laptop. I leaned forward to get a better look at what she was doing, even though I knew I wouldn't understand it.

"Honestly Becker, you can face down raptors and diffuse bombs but you can't sign in to a computer?"

As she smiled at me, a teasing glint in her eyes, I felt my heart jolt. Instead of replying with words immediately, I gave her a mock-warning look of "Oh, you really want to go there?"

Her smile seemed to spread even further towards her eyes by the time I managed to speak coolly, "I'm not exactly into technology, Jessica. Unless it involves firepower."

She raised her hands in mock surrender, grinning widely, as she turned back to the computer and set to work helping me. I chuckled under my breath - she knew exactly how to gauge my mood.

It was silent for a few minutes. The sound of the second hand on the clock ticked loudly as I pretended to watch her work, when in fact I was just watching her.

She was so… serene. So calm.

I was right beside her - so close to her that I barely had to sound my next words; I swear she could have just heard them in my head if I thought them loudly enough.

"Thank you, Jessica," I managed to breathe out. She froze in surprise, tilting her head to look up at me. She was so close. "For saving my life today."

She blushed, even _I_ felt like blushing, but we kept eye contact.

"You told me what to do, Becker," She whispered honestly. "You told me… I just did what you told me to do."

"Still," I had to interrupt her. She could play the _'You're the real hero'_ card on me, but she wasn't fooling either of us: it had been her who had saved our lives, saved the building, today. "You could have left- You _should_ have left," I pretended to mock glare at her but we both knew I was half serious. After a moment I left my features become soft, as I only ever did around her. "But you didn't, you stayed and helped me… so thank you, Jessica."

_I didn't think I knew anybody else, apart from the main field team, who would have done that for me._

She took a deep breath in at that. Not surprised I'd conveyed my gratefulness, but surprised I was being so… emotional. To be honest, I was surprised at myself.

"You're welcome," She grinned back happily, returning to her usual cheerful mood and turning back to the laptop. Tapping one last final key (rather dramatically) she declared, "There - all done."

She was so happy again. So Jess-like.

_So perfect._

The thought manifested itself before I even had the time to squash it. It surprised me. I didn't even want to take it back. It was true, completely true.

Jessica Parker was more than absolutely brilliant.

_Oh no, Becker. You're in trouble now._

I hadn't really fallen for anybody before, but I'd fallen for her. A woman quite a bit younger than me.

I felt a small smile tug at the corner of my lips as I realised something else, _I didn't care. I didn't care if she was seven years younger than me, if it seemed like a lot because she hadn't long been classed an adult whilst I was twenty six._

_I cared about _her_._

I blinked back to my surroundings as I realised I wasn't just picturing her face, I was seeing it right in front of me. A very self-conscious, confused face. "What…" She protested slightly at my unwavering gaze.

"Can you promise me something?" I suddenly had to ask her, I had to make sure I did everything I could to ensure she was okay. She thankfully acquiesced immediately. "Don't ever go out into the field again."

Her eyebrows creased in confusion, but when I smiled, she smiled.

"Deal," She agreed.

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><p><strong>Firstly, how AWESOME was the finale? Awesome, I tell you. Apart from the lack of Jecker, but still... we'll all pretend there was amble Jecker in 5x6, shall we? :) Who's hoping (perhaps rather futily) for a series 6?... PLEASE, pretty please, writersfunders?**

**Oh, and also, I totally called Jess taking her noisy (but amazing!) heels off, did I not? Okay, so not in the same way that it actually happened, but still... Lol.**

**Secondly, thank you again for reading! And reviewing (hint, hint? Please?) and I just want to let you all know that I'm writing another Jecker fic, probably set after 5x6 but could be whenever really, unless I can't resist to put in something about Abby/Connor. Basically, I'll hint: cue Becker meeting the whole extended Parker family at a barbeque. :)  
><strong>


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